Take a deep breath
And go inside

[Rhythmic drumming and rattling begin, each in beats of two, heard softly under the speech throughout]

What does it mean to know what the seagulls know?
[Second voice, sung]: What do the seagulls know?

What kind of sacred laws do they follow?

And why don’t humans know
[Second voice]: Or care
That taking more than what we need
Might be endangering a species?
[Second voice]: What about the bees?

What does it mean to know what the trees know?
[Second voice, sung]: I wanna know what the trees know

How do the apples grow?
[Second voice, sung]: How do the apples grow?

How do I know?

Where do these thoughts come from?
[Second voice]: Where do they come from?

How can I create right relationship with the winged-ones?
With my nest?

[Soft, distant humming begins]

With the lumber that is framing it?

How can we expect it to house us without having gratitude?
[Second voice]: Or respect

What is my relationship with the wood in my home that fuels the fire?

Once a living magnificent being
Standing with roots
Reaching the sky
[Second voice]: Majestic

Were they honoured before they were cut down?
[In unison]: Were they asked permission?

Were they given an offering?
[Second voice]: No, it’s not likely

What kind of offering can I make now?
How do I honour and uphold the space that it holds?
How do I love?
How do I grow?

[Humming ceases]

Nature communes
[Second voice softly sings in the background]: Hey ya hey ya hey ya
In the seemingly unrelated
Faces in the rocks
A bird flying up above
In the clouds or tree trunks
A falling leaf
Following that thought
Even if you don't recognize it as such
These forces of nature are more intelligent than us

Observe

Reserve judgement

If I can imagine it, isn't it so?

What about my ego is afraid to know?

[Singing ceases]

These stages of phases
Through changes
Of growth

These rhythms in patterns
Pulses
In cycles

Inevitable

Nothing exists in perpetuity
Unless it can’t be seen

[All in unison]: Erasure
Genocide
Sit in discomfort instead of denial
Sit in discomfort instead of denial
[Main voice]: Sit in discomfort instead of denial

[In unison]: The system designed to destroy, yet the past does not determine the future. It only exists in the now

Reclaiming
Identity

You cannot take it from me
[Second voice]: Can’t take it from me

Standing in power
[Second voice]: In my power

This attitude of fortitude is what enables me to persevere
Even though I have been victimized, I am not a victim

[In unison]: Even though I have been victimized, I am not a victim
[In unison]: Even though I have been victimized, I am not a victim

I’m writing a new story

There’s beauty even in the darkest of moments

Even though I’ve made mistakes
I will rise!

[Second voice sings softly in the background]: I’ll rise, I will rise, I’ll rise, I will rise
I am stronger than that which seeks to conquer me

Resilient
Not damaged, broken or torn
[Singing ends]

What's the line between integrated and enmeshed?
Hinged, unhinged
Assuming or unassumingly
Co-existing
Surviving
[Second voice]: Or thriving?
Entranced by the illusion
Or free from the shackles of fear
Entrenched beliefs
Or open to other ways of knowing and being

Who are these characters in this narrative of my life?
These archetypes
[Latter half in unison]: You are not a villain, even if we don’t agree

With so much division and polarity
Why can’t we seek to understand
[Ends in unison]: From a place of humility and curiosity

[Ends in unison]: And find reverence for the Earth upon which we walk
With all of its bounty
[In unison]: Even the bugs

[Ends in unison]: Fruitless endeavors exploit her generosity, her highest authority

It’s all around
[Second voice]: Sprouting through concrete

Responding and adapting
[Second voice]: Or fighting back

And, us two-leggeds, are merely part of it
[Second voice]: Not masters of it

Interconnected pieces of a whole
We are responsible
[Ends in unison]: For that which we create

Thoughts manifesting things

[Rattling intensifies]

Individual impacting collective

[Rattling ceases]

[In unison]: A co-created ripple

[Ends in unison]: Trust the wisdom of the whispers before they become screams

Nourish the heart

[In unison]: Accept and love yourself, flaws and all

Forgive
Heal
Find joy

[Drumming fades]